Category Archives: Setup

The Setup section allows Admins to tell the program what printer to use, what label templates to use, and where attachments are stored. Generally, this is where IT or support staff will go to fix things involving printing or attachments.

While the screen may appear daunting, we’re here to walk you through the process.

Under Port/Printer, indicate which printer will print your labels (generally named PMIPRINTER). All labels will be printed from this same printer, but to print out the various types (evidence, shelf, or asset), you will need to switch out the size of label in the printer.

The Evidence Label Template Path, Asset Label Template Path, and the Shelf Label Template Path indicate the file paths where the templates are stored on your shared network. Evidence Label Template corresponds to the template for your 4″x3″ evidence labels, AssetLabel Template is your template for the 2″x1″ department equipment labels, and Shelf Label Template is the template for the 4″x1″ shelf labels.

The last section in system setup specifies the path(s) for where you want pictures and attachments stored on your server for both evidence and asset information. It is recommended to use a shared path so that everyone in the department can access the information easily.

The Evidence Shared File Path is where you want to store shared attachments for the evidence log so everyone can access them. The Asset Shared File Path is where you want to store attachments for the asset log.

When you have completed entering the required information, click Save and Close.

In the User Admin screen you manage users and give them permission to access certain parts of the system.

Adding a user

Click Add.

Enter User ID.

Enter Password.

Enter First and Last Name.

Click Save.

Editing a user

Double-click the User in the grid.

Add or remove permissions by clicking the check boxes for each permission.

Click Save.

Deleting a user

Double-click the User in the grid.

Click Delete.

Click Yes.

A word about Admins, Passwords, and system integrity

Your first activity should be to decide who will be the Administrator. Most often it is the lead Evidence Tech since they are ultimately responsible for the system and the information in it.

The administrator manages user accounts, manages access to each screen in the program, and manages the customization of field names in the system.

Now that you’ve assigned an administrator, set them up with a secure password. Controlled access to the system and the information in it depends on the quality of this password so choose wisely.

Record the new password and secure it in a safe place. Be sure to save the changes before you proceed. At the end of this step the intent is to no longer have a user named “admin” that you can log in with the password “admin”.

Assistant Administrator

If there is to be an assistant administrator you will need to give that person a User ID and unique password as well. The assistant administrator must at least have access to the ‘User Setup’ menu in case, for any reason, the administrator cannot fulfill his administration duties.

Detective, Investigator, and Patrol accounts

In addition to the Evidence Techs most departments add user accounts for Detectives, Investigators, and Patrol Officers. You may, for example, want an officer to be able to enter evidence but not have access to any other parts of the program. In that case you would add a user for that person and only check the Add Evidence box.

The different permissions that can be assigned to a user are listed below:

Admin – This gives an authorized individual access to the User Setup screen along with the ability to change the field headers and case numbers. Whoever has access to this screen controls the security and can determine who can enter the various parts of the software. Only the administrator and assistant administrator should have access to this screen.

Add Evidence – Allows an authorized individual to enter new evidence records into the Evidence Log.

To use the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software for the first time double click on the icon. In a few seconds you should see the Login screen. To log in the first time use “admin” for both the User ID and Password. Be sure that you use lower case for both fields, as they are case sensitive.

Next you customize the software for your department. The next step is to assign User IDs and Passwords to those who you want to have access to the various parts of the program.